Rich
As it's going to be some time before we're sitting at home, contentedly supping a fine Boutilliers' brew, we thought it might be an idea to write a few words on what we're drinking at the minute in order to keep ourselves suitably refreshed.
Living in Spain, good beer hasn't always been easy to get hold of (although that is changing - more in a future post). Fortunately, the Spanish are becoming a bit more discerning about what beer they drink and a number of speciality beer shops are opening across the country. My local bottle shop is Quality Beers in Valencia and it's a great example, offering a fantastic selection of local and imported beers and the owner, Juan Vicente, is always more than happy to offer advice and suggestions based on your tastes. And so, it being a Saturday, it was to Quality Beers that I turned yesterday for my evening's refreshment.
First up was Weihenstephaner Vitus. Back in the UK, the Hefe Weissbeir (or weißbeir to be more German - alt + 0223 on your keyboard) along with the Dunkel and Kristall versions are fairly easy to get hold of, but I'd never tried the Vitus. In actual fact, I'm not a huge fan of weisbeir as a style so tend not to go for Weihenstephaner beers, but my hombre Juan had sent me home with a bottle of their Korbinian (a doppelbock) last week which was fantastic so when he suggested I try the Vitus weizenbock, well, it seemed churlish to refuse.
Vitus weighs in at a fairly hefty 7.7% and my bottle had a best before date of August 2014. It pours with a nice, fluffy head and has that beautiful cloudy, yellow-gold appearance familiar to so many wheat beers. On the nose it has a real yeasty, fruity smell and that touch of banana which drinkers of the hefe weisbeir will recognise.
The taste is fruity with that hint of banana coming through and yeasty with a slight sweetness which is balanced beautifully with a late tickle of bitterness. It doesn't taste like a 7.7% beer and I think you could safely describe it as "dangerously drinkable", although you do get a nice, warming kick as with all the best high (er) alcohol beers.
Overall then, a wonderful, well balanced beer that I'll definitely seek out again.
Next on the list was Gulden Draak from the Brewery Van Steenberge; a strong, dark Belgian ale. This beer has quite a dedicated internet following (although so did that "Charlie bit me" child on the internet and I never saw what all the fuss was about there) and it looks elegant in its white bottle with black banner and golden dragon. Gulden Draak clocks in at a mighty 10.5% alcohol and my bottle had a best before date of June 2015. Interestingly, they use a wine yeast for the secondary fermentation here.
It pours a glorious deep red colour with a wispy, near-white head which lingers throughout. The smell is fantastic, with burnt, sweet toffee and a dark, heavy, almost christmas-puddy fruit aroma. The taste is somewhat sweet with a delicious, silky, vinous texture which envelopes your mouth like some kind of lovely, boozy cardigan. That initial sweetness is well balanced by a slight bitterness in the finish. The alcohol is there, but is warming and soothing rather than being aggressive - more James Earl Jones than Danny Dyer.
This beer was a real pleasure to drink. Like the Vitus, it is eminently drinkable which, while obviously not a bad thing, could lead to regret after a couple of bottles. The brewery's website suggests using Gulden Draak in stews or even as a whiskey substitute in Irish coffee but really, when it tastes so good, would you want to pour any of it anywhere other than your glass (and then your mouth)?
Once the top has been popped, the aroma of hops hits you before the beer's out of the bottle. It pours a burnished gold colour and all through the pour that hop aroma is with you, urging you to pour quicker and get to the drinking.
So on to the aroma; hops, obviously, and lots of them, but further sniffing reveals a heady, floral aroma with a peachy fruitiness. The first taste is powerful: this is a very bitter beer. There is a lively carbonation in the mouth, a lot of hops and that fruitiness from the aroma comes through leading to a very dry and wonderfully long-lasting bitter finish. In fact, this probably has one of the driest finishes of any beer I've ever tried. Some beers of this strength and bitterness can be a little cloying and sickly, but XX is nice and light and extremely refreshing. I love dry, bitter beers and this one doesn't disappoint. That dryness leads to an overwhelming desire for another which unfortunately, although perhaps for the best, I didn't have.
I think that some may complain of a lack of balance with this one; there's not too much malt to temper those hops, but if you enjoy big, brash beers with IBUs into the 50s then XX Bitter is a gem.
I think that some may complain of a lack of balance with this one; there's not too much malt to temper those hops, but if you enjoy big, brash beers with IBUs into the 50s then XX Bitter is a gem.
So, with these three beers sunk I had little choice but to repair to my bed with a happy, hazy head ready to dream of what to try next.
* A quick note on tasting vessels - all of these beers recommend serving in a tulip or similar style glass. As the more astute amongst you may have noticed, I didn't use one of these. All my beer glasses are in the UK and being a tight-fisted Brit I'm loathe to splash out on new ones, hence the standard beer glass. It didn't spoil my enjoyment!
* A quick note on tasting vessels - all of these beers recommend serving in a tulip or similar style glass. As the more astute amongst you may have noticed, I didn't use one of these. All my beer glasses are in the UK and being a tight-fisted Brit I'm loathe to splash out on new ones, hence the standard beer glass. It didn't spoil my enjoyment!
http://www.disdrinknature.com/ - Quality Beers
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